My ancestors who came from the small towns of Irsch, Oberzerf and Serrig in Kreis Saarburg, Rhineland, were peasant farmers or craftsmen. In the mid-19th century they left these villages and immigrated to the woodlands of Calumet County, Wisconsin to search for a better life. By means of this blog, take the opportunity to look into their houses, explore their villages, understand their daily labors and customs, and see how the lure of a new life in America called to them.

The Kirten church had no organ and the mass was sung in Latin but regularly mixed with German songs. Every Sunday there was catechism instruction.

The cemetery was large enough for the needs of the parish. The church had two bells. The first bell was installed in 1753 (when the vestry and nave of the church were added to the first floor choir (which dated from the mid 1500s). Josef Mabillon from Saarburg was given the assignment of making the other bell tower larger in 1839 (to accomodate the new bell).

The rectory was in good condition with five rooms of which two had heat. There was a stable and stall and also a garden behind the house.

By 1853 the Kirten church was still in bad repair, although the protocol from 1853 noted that the altar was now very tasteful and modern. As if the author of the protocol was afraid to give too much praise, it was noted that t

2 comments:

Dear Kathy, my great grandfather, Mathias Wagner was also born in Serrig Kreis Saarburg on March 14, 1834 to Peter Wagner, born 1808, and his unknown spouse. Peter immigrated to Cincinnati Ohio arriving 19 Aug 1836 abord the ship Palestine. His son, Mathias immigrated to Cincinnati Ohio arriving 25 Nov 1854 abord the ship Catherine with his two sisters Anna born 1829 and Elizabeth born 1831. My problem is that I cannot find anything about them beyond what I have said above. You can reach me through my e-mail, sewraw@sbcglobal.net Thank you

Thanks for your comment. Lucky you - a family name like Peter Wagner - almost as common as my Johann Meier. Where do you start when so many people have the same name. I understand your problem. You didn't say if you have searched the records of the Catholic Church in Serrig which are on microfilm at the LDS Library. I think that might give you what you want so that would be where to start. There is also an index at http://www.genealogienetz.de/vereine/wgff/trier/Familienbuecher/Good luck and if I think of anything else, I will get back in touch. Kathy

Translate

About Me

I am Kathy Gosz, a retired library director, writing a history about my Rhineland ancestors. I want it to be filled with the details of their daily lives in Germany and later in Wisconsin. I am drawing from genealogical research, from notes taken at workshops, from historical plaques and markers, from conversations, e-mails, and the internet, but especially from local histories written in German which have been accumulated on several trips to Germany. While I love historical research, I do not love organizing my materials. This blog offers one way to keep track of the most pertinent information and to make it useful to other people as well. These posts are copyrighted by the author.

The Brautfahrt I f you’ve been reading my blog posts for awhile, you know that I am very fond of the book “ Die Dorfstrasse.” (“The Vi...

Blog Comments

Thank you for reading my blog posts and for the encouragement you have given me by leaving a comment or sending an e-mail.

I am glad to get your e-mails, but may I make a gentle suggestion? If you type your comments in the comment section located at the end of each post, I will receive that comment as an e-mail. And if you have a question or a thought that might help someone else, everybody gains when you use the comment section.

But whatever format you decide to use, I will be delighted to hear from you.